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| Sooner or later (it will seem much too soon), your cruise will come to an end and you’ll have to return to the land of making your own bed and cooking your own food. The last night of your cruise is a combination of “hating to see it end” and “giving it all you’ve got”. If you plan for the transition, your departure from the warm sun and glistening water of the Caribbean will be a fond farewell rather than and bittersweet bummer. |
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| Debarkation Information Seminar |
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| If this is your first time cruising, make sure that someone in your group attends the DEBARKATION INFORMATION seminar that will be scheduled some time on your last day. Some ships forgo the seminar and instead provide a constantly rolling video presentation on one of the channels on your stateroom TV. |
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| This will give you all the information you need regarding customs allowances and forms, debarkation procedures, what time everything happens and how your luggage will be gotten off the ship and reclaimed once in port. It’s not exciting, but it can sure save a lot of frustration and wasted time in the morning. |
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| Farewell Cast Production |
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| Whatever else you’re doing on the last night, we recommend that you make sure you don’t’ miss the elaborate Vegas-style revue that will be performed in the main theatre. These shows are the flagship presentations of the cast, including music, dancing, singing, special effects and lavish, colorful costumes. Cruise lines spend MILLIONS of dollars on designing sets, music and costumes for these events. Through-out the cruise industry, cast members take these productions extremely seriously and take a lot of pride in being the best. |
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| We’ve seen these productions on dozens of ships and while we certainly have our preferences, we’ve never been disappointed. There will probably be two presentations on this night, which allows you to enjoy the show without having to miss your formal dinner seating. |
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| Speaking of Dinner |
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| The last night in the main dining rooms is always a good one. The menu will be very creative and well-presented. As an added bonus, most of the ships stage a little singing performance by the wait staff. Nothing spectacular, and sometimes you can’t even understand what they’re saying, but it’s fun. |
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| Going back to our earlier point about tipping (yes, we do tend to ride that horse a lot), we like to give our waiter a little bonus and we make sure we give the Maitre’D a tip also, since he isn’t included in the $10/day gratuity. |
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| Being the last night of the voyage, and possibly the last time we’ll see some of our dinner companions, we also use the time to swap e-mails and make promises about getting together for another cruise some the in the future (You never know, sometimes it works out!). |
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| The Ship Will Be Wide Open Tonight. |
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| Everyone will be partying, so get it done if you haven’t already. The clubs will all be open and will be serving up their best stuff. Sometimes the ships will schedule a deck party for this night, especially if it’s a short cruise. Of course, if you are the designated driver for the ride home in the morning… well, be smart this time and get someone else to drive next time. |
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| Baggage Pick-up |
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Unless you are carrying all of your baggage off with you, you’ll need to have the bags you are sending off the ship ready to be picked up by midnight. Make sure all bags are labeled with the colored tags you have been given (along with the aforementioned distinctive marking that makes your bag stand out from the hundreds that look like it). Place the bags outside your cabin door, they will be gathered and held for offloading. |
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When deciding what you’re going to wear off the ship keep, an eye on what the weather will be like when you get home. We’ve gotten off a plane in 40-degree weather wearing shorts and a t-shirt. |
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If you are taking all of your bags off the ship with you, you still need to label everything, but you obviously don’t need to get everything packed by midnight. Be as compact as you can with the packing, the fewer bags the better. There is going to be a good bit of navigation you’ll have to do in the morning and you want to make it as easy on yourself as possible. |
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Before Going To Sleep |
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You will have already placed your bags outside your cabin and so you will be down to only the clothes and toiletries you will be carrying off the ship. When packing your main luggage stow anything you won’t be using in the morning. Pack your toiletries and electronics the night before, even if you plan to carry them off. The less you have to do in the morning, the more relaxed you will be in the morning. You want to have only one bag to deal with. |
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EXCEPTION: Some passengers will choose the self-assisted disembarkation, in which case you are responsible for getting all of your luggage off the ship and thus can bypass the baggage claim area. More about that in a bit.
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Fill out your customs form 6059B. This form will be placed in your cabin the night before you reach port. It has easy to follow directions, and will only take about 10 minutes. CLICK THE LINK below to see a sample of this form and preview the directions. http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/sample_declaration_form.xml. |
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Be sure to check the photo gallery, everything will be gone by tomorrow morning. |
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If you have any internet minutes left on your account, use them or lose them. The accounts will be deactivated in the morning. |
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Place a Room Service order for the time you want to get up. Even if you only order juice and coffee, you will get a personal wake up call and you will have an eye-opener as you get going in the morning. Sadly in recent months, some ships have stopped doing Room Service on the last morning. Jerks! |
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Gather all of the necessary debarkation documents. You will need your SeaPass Card (it will be scanned one last time as you leave the ship and returned to you), your passport and your Customs form 6059B. Keep them handy. |
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Charge your cell phone (if you haven’t already). Many passengers will be in some form of travel mode for a good part of the day. The last thing you want to deal with as you get closer to home after a long, weary day of travel is having your battery run low. |
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Your Cabin Steward will have left an envelope for you if you want to leave an additional tip. Go ahead and relieve yourself of a few dollars if you have it. |
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Handle any questions you have about your on-board account at the Purser’s Desk. If you have secured the account with a credit card, you don’t need to do anything. If you secured your account with cash or traveler’s checks, you will receive a check for the balance on your account along with the final statement delivered to your cabin. If you want the cash instead of a check, you can take the check to the Purser’s Desk and they will cash it for you. Make sure you handle all of this the night before you get to port. If there are any discrepancies with your account, such as a balance due, you will not be allowed off the ship until everything is resolved. |
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If you have an early flight, or if you need to get off the ship at the earliest possible time for some other reason, go to the Purser’s Desk and let them know. They will give you a special colored tag that authorizes you to be in the first wave. |
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One final suggestion. SLEEP WELL. It's been a great experience! |
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| Prescription Sun Glasses |
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Articles we've written about
Cruising In The Caribbean |
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Ten Mistakes When Taking A Cruise - It’s a shame to lay out
$250 - $2,500 on a dreamy
cruise vacation only to encounter unnecessary mishaps and
inconveniences. So, in an effort
to minimize the likelihood of a
bump in the road to your perfect
vacation, here are some common
potholes that can tarnish your
experience.
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Eleven Expert Cruising Tips - Some useful,relevant tips and
ideas, and other neat stuff you
can use to make their cruising
experience better.
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Hooked On Cruising (And I Like It!) - It's official! I have a
condition, a disorder by some
people's assessment. It's called
"Caribbean Obsession Disorder",
and there really is such a thing.
Imagine that!
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